Publisher's Summary

From the Sunday Times number one best-selling author

Will Robie, from The Innocent and The Hit, returns in his toughest mission to date. A time to kill - or a time to die?

The mission is to enter one of the most dangerous countries in the world. The target is one of the toughest to reach. The result could be momentous - or it could be Armageddon. There is no margin for error.

US government operatives Will Robie and Jessica Reel have to prove they are still the best team there is. But are they invincible when pitted against an agent whose training has been under conditions where most would perish?

An old man is dying in an Alabama prison hospital, it seems there is one more evil game he has still to play. And it's a game which comes close to home for Reel and Robie. But this time the stakes might be way too high.

Well I'll keep it short this time. After the second Will Robie book "The Hit", it was safe to assume that we will see more of Jessica Reel. And to make one thing clear: that's a good thing. The two characters simply work well together and dragging a 15-year old teenager (the character "Julie" introduced in "The Innocent") around as a potential victim wouldn't have worked indefinitely anyway. However that brings me back to a deficit that plagues many authors who write a large amount of books and/or different series: the main characters become too similar, and the stories tend to show a pattern. That's also true this time to an extent. Will and Jessica in many respects have become similar to Sean (King) and Michelle (Maxwell) and the story basically is something that could have happened to them as well. Without saying too much: If I remember correctly the ones who become a target in this book once were a target in one of the King and Maxwell books as well ;-)What I especially liked, was the author's focus on the North Korean assassin and her life. That decidedly made the story better and had a nice "two sides of a coin" feel to it.So if you like Baldacci I believe you will be well entertained this time too. The story is fast paced, shows some nice twists (and one strange twist, as well as some things that could have been a little less obvious) and has an interesting sub plot that gives some background knowledge about Jessica's past. As with King and Maxwell the male character's past remains largely obscure. Performance is great as always. Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty make the story come alive very nicely and I also like the sound effects thrown in from time to time.

It seems I didn't keep it short after all but I hope this helps you decide. Have fun

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Carly

Melbourne, Australia

2/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Pushes credulity too far"

Baldacci stories always push the boundaries of credulity to the limit - and the first two Robie stories most of all - but this goes way too far. It's also poorly put together, with two separate stories that have no overlap other than the highly contrived. There's also way too much unnecessary back story on the North Korean side - and when those characters hit US soil the story just gets even more painful. These narrators are always decent but htere wasn't much they could do with this, I feel sorry for them. Oh and the sound effects are always highly unnecessary but they seemed particularly grating this time.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dejan

Belgrade, Serbia

21/11/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"First two were way better"

What made the experience of listening to The Target the most enjoyable?

I liked the narrators. They're always great.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Didn't really like it. As if the author didn't have enough ideas.

Have you listened to any of Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I always found them very good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

Well, Will Robbie series was the one of three I was the most fond of. But the third book is just too much of a mix of stories...At least one was too many. I love thick stories, believable characters, but Baldacci did that in less words and more persuasive in first two books. Also, Jessica's character wasn't as firm as in second book (I don't mean firm as in tough, but in believable).This was the first book I preordered. And I am disappointed.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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N. D. Holt

Perthshire, United Kingdom

27/04/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fabulous!"

Would you consider the audio edition of The Target to be better than the print version?

No idea ... but the Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy are (again) masterful at bringing the book to life. David Baldacci's writing and Ron and Orlagh's narration is a hard to beat combination.

What did you like best about this story?

The Target seems to be a collection of shorter stories woven together into a whole ... David Baldacci has created a great thriller which doesn't really let you relax much at any point. Start to finish in 2 days ... I just couldn't stop.

What does Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Ron and Orlagh bring the characters alive for me ... this is the 3rd Will Robie book, and the 5th I've listened to with them working together. I get lost in the characters and the story and forget it's an audiobook ... it becomes more of an audio play.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Don't know ... but I'd definitely be at the cinema to see it!

Any additional comments?

I think I'd have preferred a different ending to the book ... but I can tell I'm still pumped full of adrenaline - I hadn't really noticed it until I sat down to write this review.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Martin

Brighton, United Kingdom

13/05/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Balderdacci"

I had read several David Baldacci novels prior to this one, and had found them to range from reasonably good to very good, but this is absolutely dire. You can just about put up with the annoying sound effects which this particular publisher seems to think necessary, but the story itself is horrendously cliche-ridden and mawkish to the point of nausea. Far too much tedious ramblings about family and children, and the book comprises two completely unrelated stories, as if the author didn't have enough material for either strand. Then we have the North Korean stereotypes spouting stilted anti-American insults coupled with a nonsensical plot embedded within a very badly written story where the protagonists are endlessly exchanging meaningful glances. A real potboiler which the author appears to have dashed off in an afternoon. If this was a movie (and it seems to be trying to be one) it would be a brainless actioner. To be avoided.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

M J P

28/10/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Brilliant Action/Thriller"

I like the occasional strategic sound effects.. Really adds to the story. Both narrators are fantastic.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

john barzey

19/02/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"im getting hooked"

i love the characters in this series of books the storys are great and entertaining

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Squibs

14/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fantastic listen"

Baldacci has written a great third story in this series. Ready to listen to book 4

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Phillip

30/08/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awesome from start to finish"

Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty are super talanted and amazing to listen to :)

The Story is fantastic highly recommended reading :)

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Mr. D. C. Williams

The Shire, UK

8/08/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great read ..."

Excellent if you like this sort of thing, nothing much to think about not well drawn characters and a good twisting plotHard to put down

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Alison

14/06/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"AW Review"

Great story and Orlagh Cassidy and Ron McLarty are the best narrators I have listened to. Highly recommended.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Michael Grice

Birmingham, England

29/03/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not as good as the first one."

This audio book was somewhat disjointed- several storylines that didn't really fit together. I loved the first Will Robie story but I wasn't disappointed when this one finished.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Susan Gould

7/02/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Brilliant listen"

Not a dull moment in this fast paced story. I loved it. You can always rely on a David Baldacci book to keep you enthralled from beginning to end!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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